Another Palytoxin story...

[mta_morrow]

Just read this whole thread

This is what I see so far trying to digest it all

 

[Shrimpinator123]

The stories on palyotoxins are always sensationalized. How would anything survive on rock that has been dry for a month , like mentioned in a above post. Also, it seems like a lot of details were missing from looking at the gofund me and the article. Its also funny how it says "he has to get rid of his aquarium" at the end of the article.

 

[Karl M]

This was local to me. Unless he has changed his story, he brought the rock home and sprayed it off outside and then immediately put it in the tank. I remember seeing the sales ad for the rock in question and it had to have been out of the water for at least a month before this guy bought it.

Local as well. Seems to be several different versions of this event depending on whom you talk to. My understanding is that that rock was brush scrubbed during the rinsing, who knows? Bad deal any way the story goes...

in the video it shows his eye is legit blind. It's discolored, faded, and it's a goner.......do you know anything about the eye?

While visiting one of the LFS (all to often I might add) he stopped in, I didn’t have a chance to speak with him but his eye is completely hazed/ fogged over. Hope he recovers his sight back.

 

[SteadyC]

The stories on palyotoxins are always sensationalized. How would anything survive on rock that has been dry for a month , like mentioned in a above post. Also, it seems like a lot of details were missing from looking at the gofund me and the article. Its also funny how it says "he has to get rid of his aquarium" at the end of the article.

I can tell you, I had the same corals as the ones on Lasse’s picture, I wanted them out. I took the rocks out of the tank, kept them on the back deck for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, I took the rocks in the bathtub and scrubbed them with tap water and a brush, nasty stuff was still present, I woke up at 3 Am with a fever, uncontrollable shakes, my body wanted to throw up, I was hot and cold at the same time. It happened to me, I thought I was safe after 3 weeks of rocks being in sun and air... nope. I spent a few hours in the hospital, left around 8 am. Wasn’t sick before or after.

I love Zoas, but my wife puts her foot down, after that incident, I am not allowed. The scenario is real, I lived through it.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Yep dipping frags in peroxide can aerosolize Paly toxin as it happened to me a few years back but I had my nose right up to the dipping container trying to spot potential pests Etc. I was dipping purple death palys ironically :)

People Assume it is all Zoanthids and Paly's.

The Problem ones are Proto-Paly's (Like the Purple Deaths You Mentioned) and Grandis.

I have never seen or heard any issues from Zoanthids.

Very Few Proto-Paly's are Passed Around (Texas Trash, Purple Death's Nuclear Greens, Captain America's, Mindblowing Paly's).

The Ones that will Eat Food Like a Venus Fly Trap and Slime Up.

Those are the Nasty Ones You have to be Careful With.

And all these Stories Revolve around Scrubbing or Boiling Rocks.

Don't do those things and you will be fine.

 

[Shrimpinator123]

I can tell you, I had the same corals as the ones on Lasse’s picture, I wanted them out. I took the rocks out of the tank, kept them on the back deck for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, I took the rocks in the bathtub and scrubbed them with tap water and a brush, nasty stuff was still present, I woke up at 3 Am with a fever, uncontrollable shakes, my body wanted to throw up, I was hot and cold at the same time. It happened to me, I thought I was safe after 3 weeks of rocks being in sun and air... nope. I spent a few hours in the hospital, left around 8 am. Wasn’t sick before or after.

I am not denying the fact that this stuff can be toxic, I mainly have an issue with this story due to the fact that it seems to have a number of holes in it.

 

[sghera64]

It happened to me, I thought I was safe after 3 weeks of rocks being in sun and air... nope. I spent a few hours in the hospital, left around 8 am. Wasn’t sick before or after.

I believe you. The palytoxin molecule is ginormous! It can’t be very volatile. The rock may look dried out, but the salt and oils that were in the water on the rock are still there. Those sun-dried play-laden polyps might be dried and burnt to a crisp from the scorching sun, but the palytoxin molecule would endure and simply be there when you start to scrub, blast or aerosolize or vaporize (e.g. with hot water) it.

The molecule would have to be oxidized (bleach), metabolized, or digested chemically or enzymatically to become less toxic (or differently) toxic to humans.

 

[SteadyC]

The stories on palyotoxins are always sensationalized. How would anything survive on rock that has been dry for a month , like mentioned in a above post. Also, it seems like a lot of details were missing from looking at the gofund me and the article. Its also funny how it says "he has to get rid of his aquarium" at the end of the article.

I can tell you, I had the same corals as the ones on Lasse’s picture, I wanted them out. I took the rocks out of the tank, kept them on the back deck for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, I took the rocks in the bathtub and scrubbed them with tap water and a brush, nasty stuff was still present, I woke up at 3 Am with a fever, uncontrollable shakes, my body wanted to throw up, I was hot and cold at the same time. It happened to me, I thought I was safe after 3 weeks of rocks being in sun and air... nope. I spent a few hours in the hospital, left around 8 am. Wasn’t sick before or after

People Assume it is all Zoanthids and Paly's.

The Problem ones are Proto-Paly's (Like the Purple Deaths You Mentioned) and Grandis.

I have never seen or heard any issues from Zoanthids.

Very Few Proto-Paly's are Passed Around (Texas Trash, Purple Death's Nuclear Greens, Captain America's, Mindblowing Paly's).

The Ones that will Eat Food Like a Venus Fly Trap and Slime Up.

Those are the Nasty Ones You have to be Careful With.

can you tell my wife that? ;)

 

[SteadyC]

I am not denying the fact that this stuff can be toxic, I mainly have an issue with this story due to the fact that it seems to have a number of holes in it.

Understood, I’m just saying I can believe the part about the rocks being perceived as dried out, as I thought mine were.

 

[Shrimpinator123]

Understood, I’m just saying I can believe the part about the rocks being perceived as dried out, as I thought mine were.

Ok, didn't know anything could survive that long. Figured once the stuff was out of water it was screwed.

 

[that Reef Guy]

Great Video on Preventing Paly Toxin Poisoning by Marc Levenson

Click on the Link Above to Watch It.

 

[paphater]

The story does seem strange but the guy definitely had something happen to him. That eye looks like it's a goner and he posted pictures from his hospital stay. The strange part to the whole thing is what happened to the pets.

 

[rosshamsandwich]

I can tell you, I had the same corals as the ones on Lasse’s picture, I wanted them out. I took the rocks out of the tank, kept them on the back deck for 3 weeks. After 3 weeks, I took the rocks in the bathtub and scrubbed them with tap water and a brush, nasty stuff was still present, I woke up at 3 Am with a fever, uncontrollable shakes, my body wanted to throw up, I was hot and cold at the same time. It happened to me, I thought I was safe after 3 weeks of rocks being in sun and air... nope. I spent a few hours in the hospital, left around 8 am. Wasn’t sick before or after.

I love Zoas, but my wife puts her foot down, after that incident, I am not allowed. The scenario is real, I lived through it.

to think, a simple bleach bath would have taken care of it.....

 

[rosshamsandwich]

I believe you. The palytoxin molecule is ginormous! It can’t be very volatile. The rock may look dried out, but the salt and oils that were in the water on the rock are still there. Those sun-dried play-laden polyps might be dried and burnt to a crisp from the scorching sun, but the palytoxin molecule would endure and simply be there when you start to scrub, blast or aerosolize or vaporize (e.g. with hot water) it.

The molecule would have to be oxidized (bleach), metabolized, or digested chemically or enzymatically to become less toxic (or differently) toxic to humans.

this is how the palytoxin molecule entered me

 

[sghera64]

this is how the palytoxin molecule entered me

Now that bites!

How the heck did you get the camera in there?

 

[SteadyC]

to think, a simple bleach bath would have taken care of it.....

To think, this happened to me before you were born, before this reef blog was around, etc. many, many moons ago.

 

[Mattrg02]

Are montiporas toxic? I brushed my arm into an orange monti cap, breaking it, when my insane clown bit me. I saw what looked like slime strands all stuck to my arm. About 30 mins later, I’m in bed with nausea and fatigue. I was fine the next day.

 

[rosshamsandwich]

To think, this happened to me before you were born, before this reef blog was around, etc. many, many moons ago.

what were the hospitals like back then grandpappy?

 

[norfolkgarden]

what were the hospitals like back then grandpappy?

Less knowledge, less ability.

I know of three dead people that would be alive today with current medicine.

These are the good times.
Enjoy them.

 

[Richard Chipman]

I have felt the effects of palytoxin. I was in icu for 3 days due to the toxin being inhaled. High blood pressure and what felt like a constant heart attack occurred shortly after exposure. It took the doctors two days to figure out what was going on. As soon as I mentioned I had a reef in my house within hours they diagnosed me with palytoxin. There’s no cure, it must run its course. Not a very delightful adventure I must say